2011: The Year That Was

Twenty-eleven is the first year in a while that I can look back at and say, "Yeah, it's been a long year." Usually I'm in disbelief that it's already the next calendar year, but for a variety of reasons, 2011 felt like a complete year, in a good way.

A quick rundown of times to remember, with apologies at any momentarily forgotten moments.

- My last Edge retreat (Jeff Lee's posse)
- WWKDDMTAP (and maybe a few other things)
- BWAM Boise (the first)
- UCI vs. UCLA baseball (walk-off at Jackie Robinson)
- Graduation (four celebratory meals in two days)
- The last shining moments in 122 (probably never to be replicated)
- Mammoth (a return to the joys of fishing)
- A LV 4th of July (no photographic evidence of the men)
- LSAT studying (Blueprint, not leaving the house much)
- LSAT taking (unfortunate borderline score, fortunate no retake)
- Applications (round two)
- The birth of Zotcubed (thanks for the readership)
- Cardinals Winning the World Series (Phillies, Brewers, David Freese Game 6)
- Boston (Lechmere, Dunkin' Donuts, Scarves and hats)
- Black Friday madness (madness, i tell ya)
- UCLA (third time's a charm)
- Pujols leaving (sad days)
- Finding my first full-time job (get money, get paid)

Thanks for the good times 2011. You were a year to remember.

Wowzers

Three days later, and I remain flabbergasted.

It feels great to know where I will be next year, and also to know that I won't be far from friends and family. I'm humbled and amazed by the opportunity I now have before me.

Thank you all for your overwhelming firestorm of support. God is good, and his plan is greater.

Now, I just have to get used to rooting for another SoCal school besides UCI...

get money, get paid.

It's somewhat weird that my first full-time job starts tomorrow. The fact that it's not the most prestigious gig doesn't help either. Nonetheless, I am thankful that I found a paying job somewhat quickly, and I am thankful that it is close to my present location.

Recently I've realized that in my struggle to cope with this gap year and the liminal in general, I need to slow things down and enjoy the present more. I'm in a hurry to find out my next step of life, to move on to independent living, to be able to tell people what I'm currently up to without dreading doing so. This period of life, as unappreciated as it generally is by all who share it, is still unique and valuable as a growing process. Although it's harder to discover how exactly that growth is supposed to happen, I think being grounded in humility is a beginning.

Cheers to new stages in life and being able to appreciate them despite their frustrations.

Done

It's weird to be done with the whole application process that started back in June. I'm excited to move on to my next stage in life, trusting that I will end up where I am supposed to be. Hopefully these next nine months will be productive in the interim.

On a separate note, welcome Mike Matheny and a new era of Cardinal baseball. Always liked him as a player, and I will go on the record to say that I think he will do a good job, along the lines of a Joe Girardi.

11 in '11

Yesterday was a day for not only the history books, but the memory books as well. The improbable run and underdog mentality (21 of 25 ESPN "experts" had Texas winning) is just icing on the cake. I found it heart-warming that everyone, even those who don't even like baseball, were congratulating me yesterday right after the fact. I said thanks as if I had done something, but really, it's about being a fan for every single year paying off on days like these. Although I did lose a lot of enthusiasm when they were down in the dumps, I'm proud to say that I never gave up on them. It's a lesson in perseverance and giving it your all even when the odds are stacked up against you. It's a classic example of teamwork with everyone contributing their own part. Most of all, it's an example of just how much unifying joyful exuberance can come from a simple game of baseball.

Thanks everyone for sharing the memory.

Cardinals 10, Rangers 9

What a magical night of baseball. It's hard to even recap in words all the different moments that piece together into an outcome that I will never forget. I'm glad that I never gave up hope when we were down in the 8th inning (and Facebook can prove this). I had a good feeling against Adams and once they showed that statistic of Feliz being 7/7 in save chances in the postseason, I had this gut feeling that we definitely had a shot. As everyone keeps saying, it really is the perfect metaphor game for a season where the Cards have never quit. I'm going to reserve further comment on the season until after Game 7, but I wanted to preserve this night of jubilation. Or as ESPN would say, "Freese Frame."

Joe Strauss's fitting lede in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "The Cardinals have moved beyond the unlikely, through the implausible and onto the absurd. Thursday night before the largest crowd ever to watch a game at new Busch Stadium they added a chapter too complex to fully understand but too compelling to ignore."

These are the games that make baseball truly a special sport, unique from every other. It was great to see people that usually don't watch actually get into it and admit to being sucked into the excitement. It was great to have people reach out to me because I'm one of the only Cardinal fans they know, and wanted to express how happy they were for me. Just crazy. I'll see you tomorrow.

World Series 2011

Somehow, this series seemed anticlimactic and less triumphant than the Phillies series, despite all the bad blood and rivalry that was supposed to make this Cardinals-Brewers series exciting. Maybe because most of the games weren't that close, but the Brewers' "beast mode" antics seemed like more of an annoying side act than a full on nuisance, and somehow our bullpen pitched so well that we didn't even have to worry, which is half the fun. Just a weird, dominant, but mostly weird series.

Anyway, I'm still very appreciative of the Cardinals appearing in only their third World Series since my birth. Considering that we've been in the NLCS seven times over that span, this is quite the rarity. Of course, Padres fans and most every non-large market team (and some large market teams, hello Cubs fans) probably think I'm taking it for granted. I guess sometimes it's just hard not to take things for granted when you have been the greatest National League team over the last 15 years.

Ok, done gloating. Hopefully this hasn't been too obnoxious to read.